Need Somebody
by MamaDulce
Summary: It begins in tragedy. Will help arrive in time? Or will it be too late to save a life? Contains very dark and graphic material. You have been warned.
1. Prologue: The End

**Prologue – The End**

_Spend all your time waiting_

_For that second chance,_

_For a break that would make it okay._

_There's always some reason_

_To feel not good enough,_

_And it's hard at the end of the day._

_I need some distraction,_

_Oh, a beautiful release._

_Memories seep from my veins._

_Let me be empty,_

_Oh, and weightless and maybe,_

_I'll find some peace tonight._

::::::::::::::::::::

I lay on my back on the floor of my rundown studio apartment. The cracked plaster ceiling above me was growing darker with each passing minute. The evidence of what I'd done pooled around me, warming the dirty concrete beneath me, but leaving me colder the farther it spread.

I wondered how long it would take. How long before the pain was over? How long before the images of the past finally disappeared forever? I had nothing left, nothing to want anymore. It wasn't for lack of trying; I'd tried to exist, to go on to school, to live a normal life. But I was haunted, each and every day. It was my fault. I could have saved them. I could have prevented the whole thing. And now I was going to pay.

I could feel my life draining from my body, seeping out into the cold apartment. It wouldn't be long now. The ceiling was almost completely obscured in black, and the darkness crept ever closer to the middle, threatening to claim the off-white plaster for itself. I silently encouraged it. I wished it could be faster, that I'd cut a little deeper.

I could feel myself becoming slightly impatient with death. I scolded myself for not having the courage to choose a quicker method. Or at least one that knocked me out faster. I just wanted it to be over. I wanted to hide from the pain, from the nothingness I felt every time I took a breath, knowing they would never breathe again.

I wanted so badly to go back, to change my decisions, to at least listen before I made up my mind. But I couldn't. What was done was done, and now people were dead because of it. Because of me. They were rotting away six feet under, while I lived and breathed, my heart beat, blood pumped through my veins. Every day my memories took me back to them, saw them lying in pools of their own blood, and it was because of this that I hadn't chosen a more peaceful means to my own demise. Why I hadn't just swallowed a bottle of pills. I needed to feel what they felt as their lives crept from their veins, soaking the sheets, the floor. I deserved this slow, torturous death.

My fingertips were numb long ago. Then went my arms, my feet and legs. The numbness was soothing to me. It gave me just a small taste of happiness, that I had found an escape. As I stared at the ceiling, a maniacal, twisted grin came across my face. I had won. I had beaten the eternal pain of loss I was doomed to in the waking world.

Then suddenly, finally, the plaster ceiling was no more. It had been consumed by black.

And then there was nothing. Nothing but blackness, and my thoughts swirled around me like dust in the wind. All was silent, except for the pounding of my own dying heart. I wasn't dead yet, but at least I wasn't conscious anymore. The beat of my heart grew fainter and fainter, until it stopped, and I knew no more.

I had found peace at last.

::::::::::::::::::::

More to come soon. You will find out who it is in the next chapter. Please review, as I like hearing back from my readers!


	2. Chapter 1: Awake

**Chapter 1 – Awake**

I could hear beeping. And a little click every few seconds. There was a terrible stinging in my arms, and I felt weighted down. Was this Hell?

I inhaled. The sharp scent of antiseptic stung my nostrils, and my eyes flew open. One quick sweep of my eyes told me everything I needed to know. I had failed. Again.

I looked down. Both arms had IV needles stuck in them, one with a steady stream of red, one with clear. The click I heard was the IV machines releasing fluids into my body every few seconds. The beeping was a heart rate machine, attached to me with small electrodes.

The reality of my failure rose in my throat like bile. Images flashed before me, of those that I loved most dead and gone. The beeping on the monitors next to me told me my heart rate was increasing, little by little, as I got angrier and angrier.

No. No, this couldn't be it for me. It needed to end. At this point, I didn't care how. It needed to go away, _I_ needed to go away. I looked down again at the needles and wires stuck to me, in me. I looked for the door to room, and saw that it was cracked open a little. I made up my mind there on the spot.

In a blind rage, I yanked the electrodes off, then the needles came out. Blood immediately began dripping from both sites. Yes, this was what I needed. I threw the covers off me and jumped out of bed. The scream of the heart rate machine blared in my ear, and I threw open the door and raced out into the hallway.

Almost immediately, nurses came flying at me. The first, a woman, much smaller than myself, I shoved out of the way. She fell back onto the floor, her mouth contorted into a small "o" of surprise. I fled. I didn't know where I got the sudden burst of energy, but I used it to my advantage. There had to be an exit somewhere, an elevator maybe.

There. An entrance. I ran toward it, much to the surprise of the receptionist and patients nearby. I flew at the door, only to find it locked. What? I pushed again, then I saw a small numeric keypad next to it on the wall.

Desperate, I looked at the windows. It was worth a shot, and if it killed me, it was even better. I took a step back and hurled myself at the window. Suddenly, strong arms wrapped around me, pinning my arms to my side. I dropped my legs out from under me, hoping to catch whoever it was that had me off guard.

"No you don't," said a voice in my ear, as the arms tightened around me and lifted me up in the air. Wildly, I kicked my legs, trying to get a cheap shot, any shot, at my assailant. The voice chuckled. Suddenly, I found myself face-down on the floor, my arms pulled behind me, and a heavy weight on top of me, pinning me down. Whoever it was had his legs over mine in such a way that I couldn't kick anymore. I was powerless. I could only hope that I bled to death from the IV sites before they could tie me down and stick them in me again.

I felt a sharp pinch in my thigh, and a few seconds later, my entire body went limp. My eyes closed, but unfortunately, I was still conscious. Just paralyzed. The weight lifted from my body, and I felt someone turn me over. Pressure was applied to my arms. To stop the bleeding.

_Fuck!_ I cursed internally. I would have to live another day. Or as long as they wanted me to. They controlled my body with their drugs. A voice above me, the same from before, called out for assistance. They wanted to carry me back to my room. Unthinkable curse words mentally flew at the owner of the voice. Even in my self-hatred, I couldn't deny that it was a lovely, velvety voice, but nonetheless, couldn't he see I just wanted to die?

I was carried back to my room and placed back on my bed. I could only assume the sheets had been changed, as the last ones were covered in my blood. I felt the sharp re-insertion of the IV needles, and the rip of paper as new electrodes were applied to my chest. Tears stung at my eyes and began to stream down my face.

"I wonder how she got to this point," the voice I had become familiar with said. Another voice, higher, female, and rather rude, sliced into the air.

"Who cares? She's just another crazy who'll bite the dust as soon as she's released anyway. They almost always do. Don't get too attached, Edward. You should know by now they aren't worth your sympathy."

It hurt, but not because it was wrong. She was right. I would indeed finish the job as soon as I got out of this place. And I wasn't worth anyone's time. It would just end in pain, as it always did when I let someone in.

My sedated mind began clouding over. I slipped into unconsciousness, into the terrible dreams that always waited for me. But this time they weren't there, a direct result of the drugs I'd been administered. I sighed internally, glad for the silence. I never wanted to wake up.

::::::::::::::::::::

Well, if you don't know who it is by now, you should go back and reread the chapter, playing detective. Please review! It's the only thing that lets me know whether you guys like the story or not!


	3. Chapter 2: Doctor

**Chapter 2 - Doctor**

I became aware of myself again sometime later. I didn't know how long I'd been out, and frankly, I didn't care. I cracked my eyes open. I was in a different room, and laying flat now, instead of inclined. I reached up to wipe my hair out of my eyes, only to find that my wrists were tied down to my sides. So were my ankles. The heart rate monitor next to me began to speed up as my claustrophobic side started to take over.

I strained with all of my might against the restraints, but it was no good. They were buckled, and impossible to break through or slip out of. I gave up, and my entire body went slack. My breathing labored, I didn't notice the door open, and a man in a white lab coat enter.

"You know," a voice said, causing my heart to jump. "If we weren't so afraid you would rip out your IV again, we wouldn't have to restrain you." I turned my head to the blonde-haired man and stared at him, saying nothing. "Isabella, is it?"

I turned my head back to it's original position and closed my eyes. "Bella," I said shortly. I heard the sound of a chair scraping across the tile floor.

"Bella? Well, Bella, for someone who wants to die so badly, I hardly think it matters what I call you. But no matter. Allow me to introduce myself, for I believe that no matter how long someone might be on this earth, it is my job to attempt to leave some sort of impact on them. My name is Dr. Cullen. I am the doctor assigned to your case, so you may call me Carlisle. Now tell me a little about yourself, Bella. Why are you here?"

I opened my eyes and turned my head slowly, until I met his eyes. "I don't know, doc. You tell me. I was supposed to be dead. Next thing I know, I'm here. So how about you fill me in on all the details?" I spat. Carlisle smiled sadly.

"Someone found you in time. It's as simple as that. You received several transfusions on the way here, and a few more while you were here. You needed another after you tore out your last IV." I looked down at my arms to see that the IV that had the red liquid in it, blood, was gone, replaced by a cotton ball and gauze. The other arm still had a steady flow of a clear liquid flowing in.

"Where is here?" I asked quietly. Carlisle hesitated.

"You're in a mental facility just outside of Seattle. The EMT that arrived at your home made the call when he found the razors next to you. The right call, I believe, as a normal hospital couldn't have handled the little situation you put us in upon your first awakening."

I closed my eyes again, remembering the young nurse I had shoved down. "Is the nurse okay? The one I pushed?" Carlisle chuckled.

"She was a little shocked at your strength after so much blood loss, but it's nothing uncommon here. You're lucky Edward got to you before you tried to go through the window."

"Edward?"

"My son. A nurse here, doctor-in-training. He managed to restrain and sedate you before you caused more damage to yourself."

"But what if I _wanted _to cause more damage to myself? Obviously I didn't cause enough the first time around. How does that make me lucky? You don't know how it feels to see images of the people you love the most lying in pools of their own blood with each and every breath you take. You don't know what it feels like to know it's _your_ fault they died."

"Bella, you have no idea what my life is like. I want to tell you a little story. My first year here, I took on a case. A young girl, in a situation similar to yours. Her stepbrother had been raping her for years, and she had just found out she was pregnant. She was only thirteen years old.

"She, too, slit her wrists. Her mother found her, and got her to her local hospital in time, where they stitched her up, gave her some transfusions, and sent her here. She'd lost the baby from all the blood loss. She was only four weeks along, but a life is a life.

"Two weeks into her time here, I got her to open up to everything. And then, suddenly, my oldest son's wife had a miscarriage, and I was needed there. I had to leave for the weekend. I got a phone call Sunday evening from one of the doctor's on call that she had managed to strangle herself with the cord of her IV.

"It took me a while, but I finally managed to forgive myself, and admit that there was nothing I could have done to prevent her death. And I believe that, in time, you can learn to do the same." Carlisle finished his story and sat in silence for a few moments. Then he stood, returning the chair to its original position. "I don't expect you to say anything right now. But I do want you to reconsider your choices. Give me a chance, Bella, you may just be surprised with what you find within yourself."

With that, he left, clicking the door behind him. Carlisle didn't understand at all. He may have lost someone, but he didn't have to watch her die, like I did. He didn't have to watch the blood drip onto the floor, watch the light fade from her eyes. Maybe if I played along with the doctor's games, made them believe I wouldn't kill myself... Maybe they'd let me go, and I could finally finish the job I had started.

I closed my eyes and drifted back into dreamless sleep.

::::::::::::::::::::

It was kind of a slow chapter, I know, but it is only here to set up the storyline. Bear with me, guys. You'll learn of Bella's past little by little. PLEASE REVIEW! Otherwise I don't believe I have any reason to post more. :)


	4. Chapter 3: Meeting Edward

**Chapter 3 – Meeting Edward**

I woke up once again, this time because of something cold and wet being applied to my body. My eyes popped open to see a nurse, around my age, most likely. She was holding a sponge, and there was a cart with a bucket of what I could only assume was water off to the side.

She saw me awake, and very visibly rolled her eyes. She plunked the sponge back into the water, muttered something about being finished, and wheeled the cart out the door. Confused, I looked down to see that I was wearing a different gown than I had been when I'd arrived. My wrists and ankles were still bound, but the second IV was now absent, as were the monitors. Now it was just me, tied down to the bed like a bona fide mad hatter. I didn't even want to know how they took care of my bathroom needs. Which, now that I thought about it...

Just then, the door opened. Expecting to see the eye-roller again, I was taken aback when a young man in green scrubs entered the room. He appraised me for a moment before closing the door behind him. Even though my imminent death weighed heavily on my mind, I couldn't help but find the man very attractive indeed. He was tall, but not towering, toned, but not overly so, had gorgeous reddish brown hair, a beautiful face... He was too far away to see what color his eyes were, but I found myself wanting to know.

The man walked toward me and pulled the chair over that the doctor had sat on earlier. Whenever earlier was. Looking me dead in the face—green, his eyes were a beautiful, emerald green—the man leaned over. A moment later, I heard the electric whir of the bed, inclining so that I was sitting up now rather than laying flat on my back. The whir stopped, and I looked at the man.

"My father said to call you Bella," he said, in a most familiar voice. My eyes widened as I remembered.

"_You're_ the one who—" I began, but was cut off.

"Who stopped you from jumping through the window? Yeah. Lucky you. You would have dislocated your shoulder." The man, Edward, as I recalled Carlisle saying, had a strange tilt to his words, like a parent who was trying not to yell at their naughty children.

"How do _you_ know that? How do you know it wouldn't have killed me?" I rebuked, my brows knitting together. Edward chuckled darkly.

"Come on, Bella. Look around you. You're in a mental institution. You honestly think you're the first to try that one? I've seen it a hundred times. It's steel reinforced glass, double plated. You would have broken a thing or two if you'd run into it, and you most certainly would not have succeeded in going through it. It is a peculiar thing, to watch it over and over. I could literally see the wheels in your head turning when you figured out the door wouldn't open."

I hadn't thought of that. Of course there had been others. I wasn't that special.

Edward spoke again. "And just for the record? If you're going to slit your wrists, don't do it right next to the door. The only reason you're alive right now is because a neighbor of yours saw the blood coming out into the hallway from under your door."

His words stung. No one on this god forsaken earth wanted me alive. "I'm sure you have medicines available. If you want me dead so badly, then overdose me on morphine," I spat. Edward jerked back in his chair.

"I _never—_"

"You didn't have to! Why else would you say what you did? You pretty much told me to kill myself somewhere more private next time. Maybe I will!"

"No, I was telling you that so that you would think about what you did! Do you think it's by chance you were found? Your neighbor cared enough about some stranger than you did about yourself! Why am I arguing with you? Jessica is right, you're just going to kill yourself as soon as you get out of here anyway. But Dad took a special interest in you. Don't ask me why, it's obviously futile. I wanted to see for myself if there was any life left in you, any chance at all that you wanted to live, but I'll have to tell him to drop it. I can see you won't change. Why should I bother being nice to another one of his basket cases when it'll be for nothing in the end?"

I was speechless. I didn't expect that here. I expected it to be all bullshit and roses, a bunch of lies to get me to change my mind, but not _this_. This was pure, honest feeling. I couldn't imagine how many before me this man had tried to crack, just to be let down. Well, I just wouldn't give him the opportunity to get close to me, if that's what he was afraid of. He didn't have to pity me. I didn't want his sympathy anyway.

Edward sighed at my silence. "I'm supposed to let you go to the bathroom, and then to the cafeteria. But I won't unless you promise not to run, and not to try and hurt yourself again." I jerked my head in agreement, and Edward began unbuckling my restraints.

As he undid the second wrist restraint, his hand brushed against my arm, and an electric-like shock zipped through my body, rippling from the one contact point on my arm. My eyes snapped to his, and we stared at each other, both slack-jawed. Then Edward jerked out of it and hastened to unbuckle my ankles, but my skin continued to tingle where he'd touched it and a low pink blush crept over my face.

I sat up on the bed, rubbing my wrists where the cuffs had been. Not daring to look at each other again, we walked out the door and into the hallway in silence. Now that I wasn't running, I had an opportunity to actually look at the place. It looked like any other hospital I'd ever been in, except for one noticeable difference. It was like some nesting mother had baby-proofed the entire hospital. No sharp edges, no objects left unattended, nothing. Not even windows. Talk about depressing.

There were a few patients out and about. The first we came upon didn't even seem to notice we were there, and he was holding a conversation with himself, too, as he walked on by. The second patient we saw was leaning on an IV pole with a glassed over look in her eyes. There were others, but there didn't look to be anything visibly wrong with them.

We reached the bathroom, and Edward stood politely outside the door while I did my business. Even the toilets were proofed. Built in seat, button flush, shallow water. The toilet paper was sitting on a welded-on, round-cornered shelf built right into the stall wall. No dispensers in sight, nothing that could be taken apart and used as a weapon against anyone, and especially against oneself.

I washed my hands at the automatic sink, and walked back out to where Edward was waiting. He looked at me, then pushed off the wall and we began walking down the hallway once more. I stole a glance at Edward out of the corner of my eye. I don't know why I felt such an attraction to this stranger, especially since I wouldn't be here long enough to get to know him more. Perhaps in a different life, I could have known him better, maybe even dated him.

Pain stung through my body as I remembered the last person I'd dated, and what had resulted of that relationship. Pure, literal pain ripped through my center and I collapsed to the floor. Edward's shouts sounded far away as I fell into a flashback.

I was back home in Forks, asleep in my bed. I was woken up by the sounds of thumping on the stairs. Renee was here for the week, for my birthday, and was staying in Charlie's room, while he slept on the couch. Confused, I sat up and rubbed my eyes. The thumping reached the bottom of the stairs, then a sliding sound. All I could think of as I bolted out of bed was Renee. The first thought that popped into my head was that she had maybe fallen out of bed and hurt herself.

I opened the door and stepped out into the darkness, turning to go down the stairs. With all the noise she was making, I was confused as to why it hadn't woken Charlie up. I stepped into the stairwell and immediately slipped. I slid down three or four stairs before I managed to grab the banister and pull myself upright.

It was dark, so I couldn't see what was all over the stairs. My hand was covered in it, though, so I brought it to my nose and inhaled. A sharp, metallic odor washed over me, and I recognized it immediately as blood. My severe squeamishness took over and I passed out, sliding down the rest of the stairs.

I opened my eyes to find Edward standing over me. My flashback had ended, though there was still a dull ache in my abdomen. I closed my eyes briefly and took several deep breaths.

"What the hell was that?" Edward questioned me as he held out his hand to help me up. I shook my head shortly. I was not letting him in. I would not give him the chance to know me, poor, pathetic shell that I was.

I brushed myself off, turned, and continued our walk down the hall.

::::::::::::::::::::

Review Review Review! And you shall earn another chapter! :)


	5. Chapter 4: Something Strange

**Chapter 4 – Something Strange**

_Edward POV:_

The first time I saw her, I somehow knew she was a little different. I mean, physically, she looked the same as any other of the dozens I'd seen attempt to go through the window. Blood dripping from her arms where the IV needles had been, crazed look in her eyes, suicidal thoughts to jump through the window...

But there was something else in her eyes. Pain, yes. But fear as well. I'd never seen fear before. All the suicidal patients I'd seen wanted nothing more than to die. But she looked..._afraid_ of death. Like she was forcing herself to end her life, even if it wasn't what she truly wanted for herself. Like she thought it was the only way to cease the pain she felt within.

It was this fear that forced my legs to begin moving to her, rather than let her dislocate her shoulder on the double-plated, steel-reinforced glass, like I had so many times before. I reached her just as she began to hurl herself at the window, and I wrapped my arms tightly around her, got her on the ground, and sedated her.

The defeated look on her face as she lay paralyzed on her bed... I'm not sure why, but I felt something strange for her at that moment. Not pity, at least, not _exactly_. I felt this strange urge to _protect _her. To keep her from herself. To find out why she was where she was at this moment in her life.

Of course, Jessica, the other nurse assigned to her, didn't feel the same way. She felt that every suicidal patient who came through our doors was a waste of our time. And she had every reason to. Most of those patients ended up dead one way or another. And she'd seen me try to work with other patients before, only to be disappointed when they finally managed to finish what they'd started. But I was only attempting to help those people because I wanted to see if I could make a difference in someone's decision to live or die. Even if I didn't really think they would make it to their next birthday. Which perhaps was my mistake in the first place.

Then I went to her room, after she'd awoken again, after her half-assed sponge bath from Jessica. And what I saw scared me, and I don't know why. It was as if there was nothing left inside her. I found myself wanting to severely maim whoever had gotten her this way. And I'll admit, I lost control a little. I said things I shouldn't have said to someone who was thinking of ending her own life. I regretted what I'd said, because I knew she wasn't going to let me in now. But I would still try. I felt a connection to this stranger, this girl who'd wandered down the wrong path in life, and I wanted to help. And when I accidentally brushed up against her bare skin, there was an energy that I can't find words to describe that passed between us. It was there long after our skin parted ways, and found myself wanting to know her, to know her life.

It was on our way to the cafeteria that it happened. She gasped suddenly, clutching her stomach and falling to the floor. My first thought was that she'd managed to take something, some kind of pill or chemical. But a few moments passed, and she opened her eyes. I gave her a second to collect herself and attempted to question what had happened, but I got nothing. It was just as I'd feared. She wasn't going to let me in, and I had no one but myself to blame for that.

But I wasn't going to give up on her. Not yet.


	6. Chapter 5: Silence

**Chapter 5 - Silence**

We ate in silence, Edward and I. I didn't interact with the other patients. I didn't want to know them. So I finished the salisbury steak and mashed potatoes, swallowed my milk, and waited for Edward to finish his sandwich. When he stood, I followed suit. He walked me back to my room.

"I'm sorry, but I have to lock you in for the night. If you need anything, just press the nurse call button, and someone will be here," Edward said, not meeting my eyes. I nodded and backed into the room, sitting on the bed. Edward shut the door, and I heard a lock click, leaving me in total darkness. It was one of those doors you see in the movies, the ones with the little sliding windows in them. Except this wasn't a movie.

I leaned back on the bed and considered taking my bandages off and ripping out my stitches, but I knew that would require a higher pain tolerance than I knew I had. If I was going to kill myself, it had to be something quick, or something I could no longer do anything about, such as swallowing pills. I would just sink into oblivion and never wake up. Which is what the goal of slashing my wrists had been. In the moment I'd done it, I was so overwhelmed with grief that I hadn't even felt the razor.

So instead I pondered Edward for a moment. I didn't know what it was about him, but I wanted to know him, to open up to him. I just...couldn't. I couldn't let myself get close to someone else, to hurt them when I left this world. So I would rather just ignore the strange moth-to-flame draw I felt toward him.

I quickly grew bored of the small windowless room. I didn't feel up to killing myself right this moment, and I was insanely bored. So I did the only thing I could think of doing. I went to sleep.

When I opened my eyes, I was on the floor. It was dark, and my body was sore. The smell of blood hung heavy in the air, and I tried with all of my might not to pass out again. Renee needed me. Of that I was sure, with all that blood, and the thumping... I was still surprised Charlie hadn't been alerted. He was the Chief of Police for crying out loud, he was supposed to be alert even in slumber.

There was a noise to my left. I turned and squinted into the darkness. The shape of a person was faintly outlined against the kitchen window. It was unmoving, but I could feel whoever it was watching me.

"Renee?" I croaked out. No response. I picked myself up off the floor with great difficulty. Sliding down fifteen stairs while unconscious did not leave me in the best shape. I cleared my throat and tried again. "Renee?" Still no answer.

I edged backwards to where I knew the light switch was on the wall next to the stairwell. But before I could reach the wall, I was tripped by something on the floor. I landed hard on my bottom, all the air whooshing out of me. I reached down to feel what I had tripped over. The first thing I felt was a rough fabric that I recognized as denim. I could feel the soft, solid form of a leg beneath the jeans.

_Did Charlie fall off the couch or something?_ I thought to myself, confused. I stood quickly and grasped for the light switch, finally finding it and flipping it on. I whirled around to survey the room before me. What I saw burned into my mind. I began to scream at the top of my lungs.

I continued to scream and thrash about until the lights were thrown on and nurses rushed in. A dream. I had been dreaming. Another memory to haunt me. I allowed them to sedate me again, because I knew it would mean silence tonight. I quickly fell back into a deep, medicated slumber.

I awoke sometime later. It was difficult to tell what time it was, as there were no windows or clocks in the room. Without the lights on, it was very dark in the room. So I forced myself to stay still until someone decided to check on me.

Luckily, I didn't have to wait long. The little window on my door slid back, allowing light from the hallway to stream in. I squinted into the brightness, and the window promptly slid shut. A moment later, the locks clicked and the door opened.

"There is a light switch on the wall here. This isn't prison," came Edward's voice from where he stood in the doorway. "Mind if I turn it on?"

"Go on," I said, closing my eyes to prepare them for the sudden invasion of light on my retinas. The back of my eyelids glowed orange as the light came on. I allowed my eyes to adjust before looking back to Edward. He was now standing in the middle of the room, and was holding a small bundle of gray clothing.

"Thought you might wanna get out of that gown, so I brought the standard sweats they let you guys wear here," he said, tossing them at me. He turned and shut the door, keeping his back to me. I supposed it was a cue to change my clothes.

"Do you have to be in here?" I asked, wondering why he was still in the room.

"I have to make sure you don't try to strangle yourself with the clothes," he stated somberly. I guessed that meant it had been done before. I changed quickly, balling up the dirty gown, and, not sure what to do with it, I held it loosely in my hands.

Clearing my throat, I said, "I'm done." Edward turned around and took the gown from my hands, putting it in a small plastic laundry bag I hadn't seen earlier. He nodded his head toward the door and opened it. Following him out into the hallway, we went through the same routine as the day before. Bathroom, then cafeteria. They were serving lunch, so that meant I'd slept straight through breakfast.

A tuna sandwich and chips later, we were back in the hallway. Thinking we were going straight back to my room, I was surprised when Edward turned suddenly down a hallway I hadn't been before. Confused, I quickened my steps to catch up with him. He stopped just outside a doorway and knocked lightly on the door.

"Come in," called a muffled voice from within the room. Edward opened the door and motioned me inside, entering and closing it behind him. It was an office, Carlisle's, to be specific, as he was sitting behind a large mahogany desk. A chair sat in front of the desk, and a comfortable looking loveseat and couch sat at the other side of the office.

Carlisle nodded at Edward, who excused himself from the office, and motioned for me to have a seat in the chair in front of his desk. He folded his hands and smiled warmly at me as I sat.

"Well, Miss Swan, you have lasted longer than some in your position. I'm not sure if you'll find that good news or bad, but I thought I would tell you anyway," said Carlisle. "You're here today for your fisrt one-on-one therapy session. For your particular situation, we won't make you do group therapy, as we have found in the past it often makes things worse for patients whose minds are as fractured as yours seems to be."

"Fractured?" I asked. Carlisle nodded.

"Yes, Bella. You are classified as a high risk patient, which means you are a patient who could turn on yourself at any given moment."

I looked down at my hands. It was a little uncomfortable to be discussing this. I felt like I was inconveniencing a lot of people here by doing what I so badly wanted to do. Someone would have to take care of my body, and depending on how I did it, they might have a clean up as well. Edward popped into my mind, opening the door to my room only to find me dead... I felt ever so slightly ashamed of myself, and I didn't know why.

"What are you thinking about right now?" Carlisle probed, bringing me out of my thoughts. I brought my eyes up to his.

"Nothing," I said steadily. It wasn't that easy. He couldn't rush in and be some savant who would bring me from the brink of depression and save me from myself. This wasn't a movie, a book, or any of those wonderful things where stuff like that actually happened.

"What happened yesterday evening? When you fell to the floor?" he asked, his eyes searching my face. This time I just simply didn't respond.

Carlisle looked at me for a few moments before finally nodding. "Even if you never say anything, I would like to see you once a day for the remainder of your time here."

I shrugged my shoulders. It didn't make any difference to me whether I sat in my room doing nothing or I sat in here doing nothing. A room was a room to me. Carlisle stood and walked over to the door. He opened it, and Edward appeared again, ready to escort me back to my room.

I stood, my arms crossed firmly over my chest, and followed Edward from the room. We walked in silence, and when the door had been shut and locked, I sat in silence.


End file.
